BEIJING, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Editor's note: The following is
the text of the full Chinese government response to the Reuters
Special Report headlined "China co-opts Buddhist sect in drive
to discredit Dalai Lama."

From the Chinese Foreign Ministry:

"China's constitution stipulates that citizens have freedom
of belief. The central government and government of the Tibet
Autonomous Region fully respect the rights of citizens to
freedom of belief. In Tibet, all religions and sects receive
equal respect and protection, and normal religious activities
and religious belief is protected by the law.

"After democratic reform, Tibet abolished the theocratic
system and did away with things tarnished by the feudal system,
restoring the true features of religious freedom, achieving real
religious freedom of belief and religious tolerance between
different religions and sects.

"'Dorje Shugden' is a protecting deity who has been
worshipped throughout history by several schools in Tibetan
Buddhism, with special religious practices, forms of worship and
séances passed on. Starting from the Fifth Dalai Lama, Dalai
Lamas and Panchen Lamas throughout history have worshipped
'Dorje Shugden'. Whether to believe or not in the protecting
deity 'Dorje Shugden' is totally a free and private matter for
religious followers.

"The 14th Dalai Lama has in recent years used all sorts of
means, including violent terror methods, to force certain people
to abandon their religious belief, which has caused strong
dissatisfaction in the Tibetan Buddhist community and among
certain religious groups internationally. This kind of behavior,
which violates the beliefs of religious followers and persecutes
them, once more exposes the 14th Dalai Lama's hypocrisy and real
face of the religious tyranny he practices."